Executive summary

In Philippine payroll practice, two closely related factors—26 days (monthly) and 313 days (annual)—are used to convert a daily minimum wage into its monthly equivalent for daily-paid workers on a six-day workweek with an unpaid weekly rest day.

26-day factor ≈ average paid working days per month (6-day workweek, excluding the weekly rest day).
313-day factor = 365 calendar days − 52 weekly rest days; this is the annual counterpart of “26” (since 313 ÷ 12 ≈ 26.08).

These factors do not apply to monthly-paid employees who are paid for all days of the year (including rest days, special days, and regular holidays). Monthly-paid employees use the 365-day (or 30.44-day/month) factor. Correct factor selection is essential for statutory compliance with regional wage orders and for internal payroll consistency.

Legal backdrop (Philippine context)

Labor Code of the Philippines and its implementing rules set minimum labor standards (hours of work, overtime, holidays, premium pay).
The Wage Rationalization Act (R.A. 6727) and subsequent laws establish the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) and Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs), which issue Regional Wage Orders fixing the daily minimum wage by region and industry/classification.
DOLE/NWPC issuances and handbooks standardize “equivalent monthly rate” (EMR) computations and conversion factors to translate the daily minimum into a monthly figure for payroll and compliance reporting.

Key takeaway: Regional wage orders prescribe daily rates. Employers then convert to monthly equivalents using the correct factor for the pay basis and work schedule.

Who uses 26/313—and who does not?

Daily-paid employees (typical: 6-day workweek; rest day unpaid)

Paid only for days actually worked and for regular holidays when entitled under law.
Use 26 or 313 to translate the regional daily minimum wage into a monthly or annual equivalent for budgeting, contracting, or payroll templates.

Monthly-paid employees (paid for all days, whether worked or not)

Paid for 365 days/year (includes 52 rest days, 12 regular holidays, and special days).
Do not use 26/313. Use the 365-day factor (monthly ≈ daily × 365 ÷ 12; or daily ≈ monthly ÷ 30.44).

What the factors mean (and don’t mean)

26 days/month = baseline for a six-day establishment with one unpaid weekly rest day (often Sunday).
- It is a conversion factor, not a guarantee that every month has exactly 26 paid days. It’s an average used for monthly equivalents.
313 days/year = 365 − 52 weekly rest days.
- This annual factor aligns mathematically with the 26-day monthly factor because 313 ÷ 12 ≈ 26.08.
These factors do not automatically build in premiums (overtime, night shift differential, holiday premium, rest day premium). Those are computed on top of the basic pay using the applicable daily or hourly base rate.

Choosing the right factor: decision guide

What is the pay basis?
- If daily-paid → proceed.
- If monthly-paid → use 365, not 313/26.
What is the regular workweek?
- Six-day workweek, 1 unpaid rest day → 26/313 apply.
- Five-day workweek (2 unpaid rest days) → different factors are commonly used (e.g., ~261 days/year; ~21.75 days/month). This article focuses on 26/313, but note that the factor must reflect the actual workweek.
Are rest days paid when not worked?
- If rest days are unpaid unless worked → 26/313 are appropriate for six-day operations.
- If the scheme pays all days of the year regardless of work → you are in monthly-paid/365 territory.

Core formulas (26/313 system)

Let DR = applicable daily minimum wage (per the latest Regional Wage Order for your establishment’s location and classification).

Daily → Monthly (use 26)

Monthly Basic Pay (MBP) = DR × 26 (Equivalent form using the annual factor: MBP = DR × 313 ÷ 12 ≈ DR × 26.0833)

Monthly → Daily (reverse using 26)

Daily Rate (DR) = MBP ÷ 26 (Equivalent reverse using annual: DR = MBP × 12 ÷ 313)

Daily → Annual (use 313)

Annual Basic Pay = DR × 313

Practical note: Whether you use 26 or 313, ensure internal consistency. If you set MBP using 26, reverse-computations and all downstream premiums should reference the same base.

Worked examples (illustrative)

For illustration only. Substitute the current regional daily minimum wage (your RTWPB Wage Order) for DR.

Compute monthly from daily (6-day, rest day unpaid): DR = ₱600/day MBP = ₱600 × 26 = ₱15,600
Reverse-compute daily from a given monthly: MBP = ₱15,600 DR = ₱15,600 ÷ 26 = ₱600/day
Annual equivalent from daily: DR = ₱600/day Annual = ₱600 × 313 = ₱187,800
Cross-check using 313 → monthly: MBP = ₱600 × 313 ÷ 12 ≈ ₱600 × 26.0833 = ₱15,650 (rounding may produce a small difference vs. “×26”; choose and stick to one method in your policy to avoid disputes.)

Policy tip: Many employers fix the contractual MBP using DR × 26 and then hold that amount constant each month, rather than recomputing using 313/12, to avoid centavo drift.

How holidays, rest days, and special days interact with 26/313

Weekly rest day (unworked): Unpaid for daily-paid employees; hence excluded via 26/313.
Regular holidays (unworked): Daily-paid employees are generally entitled to holiday pay if they meet the presence rule (e.g., present or on paid leave on the workday immediately preceding the holiday). That holiday pay is a separate legal entitlement computed from the daily rate and is not “pre-baked” into 26/313.
Regular holidays (worked): Premium rates apply (e.g., 200% for first 8 hours, plus rules for overtime).
Special (non-working) days: “No work, no pay” unless company policy or CBA provides otherwise; if worked, special-day premium applies.
Rest day worked: Premium applies (commonly +30% of the basic hourly rate for the first 8 hours, subject to prevailing rules).

Implementation note: Maintain a clear daily/hourly base rate (derived consistently from 26 or 313) so premium and holiday computations stay coherent.

Interaction with other statutory pay items

Overtime (OT): Use hourly rate derived from the daily rate: Hourly = DR ÷ 8. OT premium multipliers then apply per rule.
Night shift differential (NSD): Typically a percentage of the hourly rate for hours worked between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Service incentive leave (SIL): Paid at the daily rate when availed.
13th-month pay: At least 1/12 of the basic salary actually earned within the calendar year (not an arbitrary “monthly equivalent”). For daily-paid workers, this is typically computed from actual earnings (including paid regular holidays), not by simply multiplying DR by a factor.
Allowances and non-wage benefits: Generally not part of basic pay unless company policy/CBA integrates them; they do not cure a shortfall from the statutory basic minimum.

Five compliance guardrails

Start from the correct regional daily minimum (industry/classification included).
Pick one method (26 or 313/12) and document it in your handbook/contract. Use it consistently across conversions and reverse-computations.
Keep the base rate explicit (daily and hourly) to compute premiums and holiday pay correctly.
Separate base pay from premiums (don’t “imbed” holiday or premium pay into your factor).
Update promptly when new wage orders take effect; apply across all derived rates (monthly, hourly, OT, NSD).

Common pitfalls & how to avoid them

Using 30 or 30.5 as a divisor for daily → monthly on a six-day daily-paid setup. That mixes a monthly-paid approach with a daily-paid scheme and can under/overstate pay.
Switching between 26 and 313/12 mid-year. Pick one, then harmonize all payroll logic to it (including back-solving daily/hourly rates).
Applying 26/313 to monthly-paid employees. Monthly-paid use 365; otherwise regular and special day entitlements become distorted.
Ignoring the actual workweek. If you run a five-day workweek with two unpaid rest days, your factor is not 26/313 (expect ~21.75 days/month and ~261 days/year instead).
Rounding inconsistently. Set rounding rules (e.g., to nearest centavo for daily/hourly; to pesos for monthly) and apply them uniformly.

Implementation checklist (payroll setup)

Confirm employee classification: daily-paid vs monthly-paid.
Confirm workweek pattern: six-day (1 unpaid rest day) vs five-day (2 unpaid rest days).
Pull the current daily minimum from the applicable RTWPB Wage Order.
Compute MBP using DR × 26 (or DR × 313 ÷ 12) and memorialize this in the contract/payroll system.
Derive hourly rate (DR ÷ 8) and configure OT/NSD/premium formulas.
Configure holiday pay rules separately from the base factor.
Document rounding and proration (new hires, separations, absences, unpaid leaves).
Align 13th-month computation to actual basic earnings, not a factor shortcut.
Audit payslips after any wage order update.

Quick reference

Daily → Monthly (6-day, rest day unpaid): MBP = DR × 26 (or DR × 313 ÷ 12)
Monthly → Daily (reverse): DR = MBP ÷ 26 (or MBP × 12 ÷ 313)
Daily → Annual: Annual = DR × 313
Monthly-paid (all days paid): MBP ≈ DR × 365 ÷ 12 (≈ DR × 30.44)

Final word

Use 26/313 when you genuinely have a daily-paid, six-day workweek with an unpaid weekly rest day. Use 365 for monthly-paid arrangements. Keep the daily and hourly base rates explicit, compute premiums and holidays separately, and apply the chosen factor consistently to stay compliant and avoid wage-distortion issues.